The UB Bulls men’s basketball team heads back on the road as they begin a two-game road trip on Tuesday night at Miami of Ohio. UB is trying to win three straight for the first time this season. Buffalo has had its success inside Millett Hall as the Bulls have won four straight games in Oxford. Blake Hamilton led all scorers with 22 points in the meeting last year at Miami of Ohio.
Redshirt sophomore Dontay Caruthers has been a defensive stalwart for the Bulls all season, but especially in the last two games as he has recorded five steals in each of the last two contests. Caruthers leads the MAC in steals in conference games only and he is currently seventh nationally in steal percentage according to kenpom.com. Caruthers has recorded a steal on 5.56% of all possessions. The 10 steals are the most in a two-game period for a UB player since Byron Mulkey had 13 over the first two games of the 2010-11 season.
The Bulls had one of their best defensive performances of the season on Saturday as they allowed just 54 points against Western Michigan. It was the fewest points allowed to a MAC school since a 69-48 win over Ball State on Feb. 5, 2014.
Miami is 8-11 on the season and 1-5 in MAC play following a 101-92 loss at Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon. The RedHawks have won all eight of their games at home this season where they are 8-3. Tuesday night will mark just the third home MAC game for the RedHawks, who have already played four on the road. Miami is looking to snap a five-game losing streak.
The RedHawks are led by the freshman brotherly duo of Michael and Marcus Weathers this year. Michael Weathers leads the team with 18.2 points, as well as 100 assists, 25 blocks, and 35 steals. His brother Marcus is averaging 9.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Logan McLane is the second leading scorer at 12.1 points and he leads the team at 6.5 rebounds per game.
Michael Weathers and McLane are both averaging 15.8 points per game during the first six conference games of the year as the RedHawks are averaging 73.2 points in MAC play, but are allowing 80.0 points per game over the last six. Opponents have shot over 50% in those games. On Saturday, Central Michigan’s Marcus Keene scored 50 points against Miami.
John Cooper enters his fifth season at the helm of the Miami University men’s basketball program. Cooper came to Miami after a three-year stint as the head coach at Tennessee State in which he built the program into a formidable force. His 2011-12 TSU squad posted a 20-13 record, the school’s first winning mark since 1995-96 and the Tigers’ first 20-win season in 32 years. Perhaps TSU’s most impressive victory came on Feb. 9 when it defeated seventh-ranked Murray State, 72-68.
from UBBulls.com via IFTTT
