Two Of The League's Best To Clash Saturday In Muncie

Buffalo (9-5, 1-0 MAC) at Ball State (10-4, 1-0 MAC)
January 6, 2018
Worthen Arena - 2:00 pm

Bulls on the Air

Radio - ESPN 1520-AM WWKB/TuneIn App

Television - ESPN3

Quick Hits

• Two of the hottest teams in the Mid-American Conference will square off on Saturday in Muncie, IN as Buffalo travels to Ball State for an interdivisional clash. Both teams won their league openers on Tuesday night as the Bulls won 104-94 over Toledo and Ball State defeated Eastern Michigan, 72-62.

• Ball State holds a slim 15-14 lead in the all-time series with the teams splitting their meetings last year, both winning on the road. Ball State came away with a 92-77 win at Alumni Arena, but UB won the rematch, a nationally-televised contest in Muncie, 96-69.

• Junior CJ Massinburg became the newest member of the 1,000-point club on Tuesday night as he scored 24 points to become the 20th member of the club and the seventh fastest to ever do so, accomplishing it faster than former MAC Players of the Year Turner Battle, Mitchell Watt, and Javon McRea. He is currently 17th on the all-time scoring list.

• The 104 points scored by the Bulls on Tuesday night was their second most ever in a MAC game and the most scored in regulation. UB's MAC record for points is 107 scored in a double overtime game against Kent State on Feb. 15, 2006. With their 106 points at Niagara, this is the first time Buffalo has had multiple 100-point games in the same season since 1997-98.

• Since becoming eligible on Dec. 19, senior Wes Clark is averaging 21.0 points and 6.3 assists per game over his first four games played.

• Junior Nick Perkins, who was named the MAC Sixth Man of the Year last year, has now come off the bench in four straight games and he is averaging 18.3 points per game in those four contests. He had his first double-double of the year 24 points and 10 boards against Toledo.

• Buffalo leads the MAC and is 42nd nationally in scoring offense, averaging 82.7 points per game. UB has only averaged over 80.0 per game for a season once in their 100 year history.

The Opponent

• Ball State is 10-4 on the season 1-0 in league play and the Cardinals are riding a nine-game winning streak, with their last loss coming at Bucknell on Nov. 22. Like the Bulls, the Cardinals faced some big-time competition in non-conference play, including a last-second win at nationally-ranked Notre Dame on Dec. 5. This will be Ball State's sixth straight home game.

• The Cardinals have a balanced squad with three players averaging in double figures and six players averaging 7.9 points per game or better. Point guard Tayler Persons leads the team with 14.7 points and 4.4 assists per game. He hit game winners in back-to-back wins over Notre Dame and Valparaiso. Kyle Mallers adds 11.6 points and Tahjai Teague is averaging 10.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Trey Moses is the leading rebounder at 7.3 per game.

• Ball State is a perfect 8-0 this season at Worthen Arena where they have played their last five games. The Cardinals opened the season winning one of their first five, but they made tough trips to Dayton, Oklahoma, and Oregon during that stretch.

• James Whitford completed his fourth season as the Ball State men's basketball head coach in 2016-17. Whitford's teams have surpassed 20 wins and shared the Mid-American Conference West Division championship in each of the past two seasons. Whitford served four years on the staff at Arizona, including his final two as the associate head coach. He was with Arizona head coach Sean Miller for eight seasons, dating back to Miller's days guiding the Xavier program.

Giving 100%

The Bulls hit the magical 100-point number for the first time this season during their 106-87 victory at Niagara. The 106 points tied the school record for points scored in a road game, matching the total from March 2, 1974 at Rochester. It was only the fourth time ever that Buffalo had scored triple figures in a road game and it was the most points in a road game since a 100-92 win at Chicago State on November 21, 2001.

For the first time since the 1997-98 season, the Bulls hit 100 points in multiple games in the same season following their 104-94 win against Toledo in the MAC opener. The 104 points were the second most scored by UB in a MAC game and their most ever in regulation of a MAC contest. While the Bulls have already scored 100 or more twice against D-I schools, the rest of the league combined only has one 100-point performance against a D-I opponent.

Mr. 1000

Junior CJ Massinburg became the newest member of the 1,000-point club on Tuesday night against Toledo as he scored 27 points against the Rockets. Massinburg is the 20th player to score 1,000 points for the Bulls and he is the seventh fastest to do so, achieving it in his 73rd career game, which is quicker than previous MAC Players of the Year Turner Battle, Mitchell Watt, and all-time leading scorer, Javon McRea.

After scoring just eight points in the opener, Massinburg has scored double figures in each of the last 13 games, scoring at least 20 points nine times. He scored 30 at Delaware, the second time in his career he has done that. Twice this year, Massinburg has been named the MAC East Player of the Week and he currently leads the MAC in scoring at 20.1 points per game (UB's Wes Clark has not played the minimum games to be eligible). Massinburg is also UB's leading rebounder on the season, as he is averaging 7.9 boards per contest. He has a team-high five double-doubles on the year, including recording a career-high 14 boards at Delaware. The five double-doubles are third most in the Mid-American Conference.

Massinburg is 17th on the all-time scoring list with 1,024 career points.

Wild, Wild Wes

The Bulls got a huge boost to their lineup prior to the Syracuse game on Dec. 19 as senior Wes Clark was cleared to play by the NCAA, marking his first collegiate game since February 13, 2016 when he played for Missouri. Clark, who joined UB last January, has been practicing with Buffalo since then, but he was finally able to play in his first game at Syracuse.

Clark scored 15 points and had six assists in his UB debut, picking up the start and playing 34 minutes. Clark added 17 points and eight assists against Texas A&M. Clark scored 27 points in his Alumni Arena debut on Dec. 29, scoring 13 of those points in the overtime period. It was a new career high for Clark as he scored 26 against South Carolina, while playing for Missouri.

He played his high school basketball for Buffalo head coach Nate Oats at Romulus High School right outside of Detroit, MI.

Clark had 25 points and five assists in the win over Toledo, and he is averaging 21.0 points and 6.3 assists over his first four games.

In The Nick Of Time

Junior Nick Perkins got off to a fast start to the 2017-18 season as the Ypsilanti, MI native had a career-high 26 points in the season-opening win over Canisius. The 26 points were the most by a UB player in a season opener since Nikolai Alexeev had 26 against Niagara on November 19, 1999.

Perkins came off the bench for the first time this season against Syracuse and he ended up leading the Bulls in scoring with 18 points, while also pulling down seven rebounds, including six offensive ones. Perkins has had some of his best games against Power 5 competition. In addition to 18 against Syracuse on Dec. 19, Perkins had 20 points as a freshman against Miami (FL) in the NCAA Tournament, and last season he added 23 points at Pitt. He added 17 points against SEC foe Texas A&M. Perkins had his first double-double of the year with 24 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Toledo. Perkins has now come off the bench in four straight games and he is averaging 18.3 points per game in those contests.

Dialing From Long Distance

The Bulls had one of their best games from behind the arc in school history in the loss at nationally-ranked Texas A&M on Dec. 21. The Bulls hit 17 three-pointers in the game, second in school history, and the most since hitting 18 against Troy State on Feb. 22, 1996 when UB went 18-for-40 in the contest.

Buffalo shot 17-of-39 from behind the arc against the Aggies as four players hit at least three triples, led by a career-high six three pointers from CJ Massinburg. Senior Wes Clark and juniors Jeremy Harris and Montell McRae each hit three. McRae was a perfect 3-of-3. The 17 three's made by the Bulls were the most by a MAC school against a Division I opponent this year.

Sophomore Sensation

It can be argued that sophomore Davonta Jordan is one of the most improved players in the nation from last season and that was capped off with his first career 20-point game at Delaware. Jordan averaged just 2.5 points per game last year, but this season he is averaging 9.4 points per game. Through the first 14 games, Jordan has 131 points, already surpassing the 76 he scored all of last year. He has 11 three-pointers, nine more than last year. Jordan had 15 points in the win over Toledo, his highest total in the last six games. On the glass, he averaged 1.8 rebounds last season and this year he is averaging 3.0.

Jordan is currently eighth in the league in assists at 3.8 assists per game.

Leading The Charge

Head coach Nate Oats begins his third year on the Buffalo sidelines, having comprised a record of 37-30 during his first two years. He is the only coach in UB school history to record 20 wins in his first season as a head coach and his 37 wins in his first two years are the second most by a UB coach behind only Bobby Hurley, who had 42 wins over his first two years.

Oats surpassed his predecessor on Dec. 9 vs. Central Penn as he picked up his 43rd win in his 76th game as head coach. With 46 career wins, Oats is just three away from tying V. William Hughes (1978-82) for seventh place on the all-time wins list

Deuces Wild

One the most of anticipated newcomers will wear #2 on the Buffalo team is junior college transfer Jeremy Harris, who came to UB from Gulf Coast College, where he was ranked as the second best junior college player in the nation by JUCORecruiting.com.

Harris led the Bulls with 21 points and added 10 rebounds in the overtime contest against Rhode Island in the charity exhibition. He had a stretch for the Bulls where he scored eight straight points, erasing an eight-point deficit on his own. He led the team with 17 shots taken, but also added three assists and three steals. Harris recorded double doubles in both exhibition games as he added 13 points and 11 rebounds against Daemen. Harris had a pair of 17-point games during the Cayman Classic as he recorded double figures in scoring in all three games. He had17 points and six rebounds against nationally-ranked Cincinnati and added 17 points and four assists in the win over UAB. He had 11 points and five assists against South Dakota State. His best game so far came against Niagara as he finished with a career-high 23 points, going 5-of-8 from three-point range. He also added seven rebounds and six assists. Harris recorded his first career double-double against Central Penn and added 14 points and nine rebounds in the win over Robert Morris.

Get Smart

Junior Ikenna Smart made his season debut on Saturday against Robert Morris after missing the first nine games of the season due to a back injury. Playing in his 67th career game, Smart recorded a new career high in scoring with 12 points as he went a perfect 6-of-6 from the field in 21 minutes of action. Smart was relentless on the offensive glass as he had six rebounds in total, four of those coming on the offensive end.

Cleveland Is The Reason

A native of Cleveland, OH Montell McRae is the new man in the middle for the Bulls. A transfer from South Plains Junior College, the same school as former UB player David Kadiri.

In the exhibition against Rhode Island, McRae had 10 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, while adding an assist, three blocks, and a steal. McRae had 10 points in the win over Jacksonville State for his first regular season double figures performance. He scored a new career high with 13 points against Central Penn. McRae went a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc against Texas A&M on Dec. 21.

McRae was part of a South Plains team ranked first nationally for much of the season as they went 32-2 last year.

Reese Lightning

Freshman James Reese has already ignited the Buffalo crowd prior to even playing his first regular season game with the Bulls. It began over the summer, when Reese made national headlines for his dunks at the UB team camp, showing up on media outlets across the country.

Reese's athleticism extends to just his dunking and he made a strong impression in the charity exhibition against Rhode Island as he had 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc. Reese's best game so far this year has been against South Dakota State where he recorded seven point and four rebounds. Reese also had seven points against St. Bonaventure. He picked up his first career start at Delaware and in the win over Central Penn, Reese had a career-best 18 points, while adding six rebounds and six assists.

Reese was named the State Player of the Year in South Carolina as he played his ball for A.C. Flora where he won two state titles, leading his team to a 21-2 record during his senior season. He averaged 25.0 points per game during the year.

Luck Of The Irish

Freshman Jayvon Graves comes to Buffalo from one of the most well known high schools in the country in the St.Vincent-St. Mary's out of Akron, OH, the same high school as NBA MVP and World Champion, LeBron James. Nicknamed the Fighting Irish, Graves and his high school teammates won the Ohio State Championship last season and Graves was named the Ohio State Player of the Year.

He had three points against Rhode Island, draining a three-pointer. Graves had a strong second half against Daemen and nearly put up a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. Graves finished with nine points and four rebounds in the win over UAB. He added seven second half points against Delaware, while also pulling down six rebounds. Graves scored 11 points, while adding six rebounds in the win over Central Penn. He had his second straight double-digit performance with 10 points against Robert Morris.

Bulls Picked To Win MAC East

The University at Buffalo men's basketball team has been picked to win the Mid-American Conference East Division and received nine tournament championship votes, second most in the league, it was announced by the league office in their annual preseason poll voted on by a panel of all 12 MAC head coaches and 18 media members.

University at Buffalo Athletics