clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

2018 MAC Basketball Preview: Northern Illinois Huskies at Buffalo Bulls

The Bulls put their perfect MAC record on the line against NIU

NCAA Basketball: Buffalo at Syracuse Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Bulls (12-5, 4-0 MAC) are the lone unbeaten team in conference play and have won five straight games. They’ll put their 4-0 record up against the Northern Illinois Huskies (9-8, 2-2 MAC), who ended a two game skid on Saturday with their 72-66 win over EMU.


Game Details

  • When: Tuesday, Jan. 16th, 2018 at 7 p.m. (6 p.m. CST)
  • Where: Alumni Arena - Buffalo, New York
  • Watch: ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app

Players to Watch

Levi Bradley, G, NIU - Bradley, the Huskies’ leading rebounder (6.2 per game), has 13+ points in the last four games. In that span, he’s averaging 16.5 points and 7.75 rebounds per game.

Eugene German, G, NIU - German continues to lead the MAC in scoring, averaging 19.9 points per game. He’s dropped 20+ points in nine games this season, including 26 last game against EMU. He’s actually tied for third on the team in rebounding and is second in assists per game. The Huskie offense goes through German.

Wes Clark, G, Buffalo - Clark has only played in the last seven games for Buffalo and he’s showed that he can score in bunches (he’s second on the team with 16.7 points per game), scoring 15+ four times. But he’s also very unselfish, leading the team in assists (5.9 per game) as well.

CJ Massinburg, G, Buffalo - Massinburg is the Bulls leading scorer and his 18.7 points per game is good enough for second best in the MAC. He’s struggled on offense in the last three games though, only averaging 12.3 points per game, shooting just 48.3% from the field and 27% from behind the arc. However, he’s been a rebounding machine - netting 10 boards per game.


Prediction

In the battle between the MAC’s leading scorers, German and Massinburg, the Huskies look to be a little over-matched in this one. The Bulls out-rebound, out-score, out-block, and out-assist NIU. That’s not to say German and Bradley can’t keep NIU close if they shoot well but, overall, the Bulls have more depth and size than the Huskies. NIU hangs around for a little while but Buffalo gets the win in the end.

NIU Huskies - 68
Buffalo Bulls - 81