Looking for a potential sleeper for the 2019 NCAA Tournament? Check out No. 18 Buffalo of the Mid-American Conference on Friday night. They are NCAAB odds favorites as they make the trip to Bowling Green in a battle for first in the MAC East.
How to Bet Buffalo vs Bowling Green NCAA Basketball Odds & Game Info
This alley oop finish by Montell McRae tonight was just straight up nasty! #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/JeXqjfjNYI
— UB Men’s Basketball (@UBmenshoops) 30 de enero de 2019
- When: Friday, 8 PM ET
- Where: Stroh Center, Bowling Green
- TV: CBS Sports Network
- Live Stream: CBS Sports Live
- NCAA Basketball Odds: Buffalo -8 (Total 156)
Season Series
First meeting. Buffalo swept last year, winning 100-70 at Bowling Green to close the regular season. CJ Massinburg and Nick Perkins scored 19 points each and Buffalo clinched the outright Mid-American Conference regular-season championship.
That Buffalo club was just the fourth team with 15 or more conference victories to win the MAC — joining Miami (Ohio) with 15 from the 1998-99 season and Kent State (17) in 2001-02 and (15) in 2005-06. Justin Turner scored 21 to lead Bowling Green, which shot just 37 percent.
Why Bet on Buffalo?
The Bulls come off an 83-59 rout of Ball State Tuesday, winning their 21st straight at home. The Bulls haven’t lost at home since Dec 2, 2017, a 73-62 Big 4 loss to St. Bonaventure. They led wire-to-wire to improve to 19-2 on the year and 7-1 in the MAC. It is the first time in school history that Buffalo has won 19 games before the start of February.
The defense great all night, holding the Cardinals to 32.3% shooting and just 8.7% from three as Ball State shot 2-of-23 from behind the arc. Both shooting totals were a season-low for a Buffalo opponent this season. Buffalo recorded a season high 51 rebounds, the first time since the season opener at West Virginia that they had at least 50 rebounds in a game.
Donta Caruthers paced four Buffalo players in double figures with a game-high 21 points as he went 8-of-10 from the field and 2-for-2 from behind the arc. Senior CJ Massinburg added 16 points as he moved into fourth place on UB’s all-time scoring list with 1,715 career points. Massinburg also added nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Javon McCrea is UB’s all-time leading scorer with 2,004 points, ahead of Rasaun Young (1,908) and Jim Horne (1,833).
Buffalo is 24-4 in its last 28 MAC games dating back to the end of the 2016-17 season. UB has lost those four games by a combined 10 points. UB moved up to 18th in the latest AP Top 25 rankings on Monday, the 12th straight week the Bulls have been in the polls. The 12 weeks are a new Mid-American Conference record, surpassing the 11 straight weeks that Bowling Green was ranked during the 1961-62 season.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 84.67
- Field Goal Percentage: 46.10
- Three-Point Percentage: 33.78
- Free Throw Percentage: 68.98
- Total Rebounds: 40.43
Defense
- Total Score: 69.95
- Field Goal Percentage: 41.28
- Three-Point Percentage: 31.24
- Free Throw Percentage: 70.38
- Total Rebounds: 37.71
Why Bet on Bowling Green?
The Falcons are currently a half game behind UB in the MAC East at 6-1. Buffalo will enter the game as the highest ranked men’s basketball team to ever visit The Stroh Center, which opened its doors in time for the 2011-12 school year. While the Falcons have defeated ranked opponents on more than 20 occasions, these are just four significant home wins in BGSU men’s basketball history.
BGSU perhaps was looking ahead to this game last time out as it lost Saturday at Miami 67-53 as the Falcons’ 10-game winning streak ended. After trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half, the Falcons climbed within five points at 24-19 at the break. Bowling Green had the lead down to a single point at 30-29 with 14:29 to go in the contest, but Miami followed with a 9-0 run and did not look back.
The Bulls will be the highest-ranked men’s basketball team to ever play in the Stroh Center. In the only other men’s game versus a ranked team in arena history, No. 20 Michigan State beat the Falcons, 64-53, in December of 2012.
Buffalo is the only MAC school that Bowling Green has not defeated under head coach Michael Huger. The Bulls have won nine-straight games in the series to take a 19-18 advantage all-time. The Falcons will be televised in front of a national audience for just the sixth time in the Michael Huger Era.
A win here would be BGSU’s first over an AP top 25 team since 2008. BGSU beating foes by an average or 20.4 at home this year. BGSU is averaging 83.3 points per game at home, while holding opponents to just 62.9 points per ballgame.
Bowling Green leads the country in rebounds per game at 43.7. The Falcons also lead the MAC in rebounding margin (+9.4) and defensive rebounds per contest (30.6). Bowling Green is 10-0 inside the Stroh Center this season, marking the program’s best home start since 1999-2000. The Falcons are three wins away from setting the arena record for men’s basketball.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 78.25
- Field Goal Percentage: 44.40
- Three-Point Percentage: 36.87
- Free Throw Percentage: 65.94
- Total Rebounds: 43.65
Defense
- Total Score: 69.45
- Field Goal Percentage: 39.85
- Three-Point Percentage: 33.72
- Free Throw Percentage: 68.04
- Total Rebounds: 34.25
Buffalo vs Bowling Green NCAAB Betting Trends
- Favorite is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings
- Over is 21-6 in the last 27 meetings
- Road team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings
- Buffalo is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Bowling Green
- Buffalo is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games on the road
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Buffalo’s last 6 games on the road
- Bowling Green is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
- Bowling Green is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
- The total has gone OVER in 6 of Bowling Green’s last 8 games
Expert NCAAB Betting Prediction for Buffalo vs Bowling Green
Way too many points – take them.
