Buffalo – Houghton Breakdown

There’s no question UB Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon would have rather played undefeated Central Florida and Marcus Jordan (MJ’s son) today, but the contest against NAIA DII opponent Houghton wasn’t totally worthless.  If you’re interested in the play-by-play and game commentary, head to the Buffalo.com live-blog.  Otherwise, here’s a quick breakdown of the game:

• Player(s) of the Game:  Titus Robinson and Corey Raley-Ross.  Titus has been largely abysmal this year due to frequent foul trouble and tentative play around the bucket.  Today, with a four inch advantage over Houghton’s tallest player, Robinson’s lack of strength didn’t matter, as he notched 13 points on an efficient 4-5 shooting from the floor and 5-6 from the line.

• Raley-Ross, an absurdly athletic but raw shooting guard, put up a career-high 16 points – many of which were high-flying slams or silky-smooth jumpers.  His four turnovers led to a couple stern meetings with Coach Witherspoon, but his potential cannot be ignored.

• It was over when…UB went on a 23-6 run to end the first half.  Houghton kept the game tight early with hot shooting, hustle, and an uncharacteristically timid Byron Mulkey, but a spark from the Bulls’ bench (which outscored Houghton 34-4 for the game) was too much for the Highlanders to handle.

• McCrea update: With five rebounds in 14 minutes of action, Javon is averaging 16.22 rebounds per 40 minutes.  The per 40 minute stat gives you a taste of his rebounding prowess, but it makes little sense for Javon to play any more than his 18 mpg.  The Bulls’ frontcourt is too deep and too talented – and McCrea’s stamina is not exceptional for a big.

• What’s in it for Houghton? Ryan Shay (15 points, 7 boards) raised his play to the level of the competition, but no one else followed suit for the visitors.  The Highlanders’ big men were over-matched from the start – only Mike Munoz’s perimeter ability troubled Buffalo.  If you’re intrigued by Houghton, a January 4th contest against Buffalo-based Daemen (and Will South product Mark Coppola) is worth seeing.

• Anything worthwhile in the presser? Coach Witherspoon was uncharacteristically long-winded in the post-game press conference (it lasted a half hour); much of the chatter surrounded the difficulty in college basketball scheduling, particularly for a cash-strapped northeastern school like UB.  The facts that wealthier teams can “buy” home games and craft unbalanced home/away schedules were the main talking points.

• Simply put, it’s a major challenge for Buffalo to attract opponents for several reasons – financial, locational, and seasonal.  Can you really blame Central Florida for bailing on an arduous trip north to play a mediocre, cold-weather team during Christmas break?

• Next on the schedule is…BYU agreed to play in Buffalo while the students were on break – the Cougars are 10-1 now after a loss to pesky UCLA and rank 16th in the country (for now, at least).  Preseason All-American Jimmer Fredette leads the Mountain West Conference squad in scoring with 24 per game – he’s Glens Falls-based, a major reason why the Cougars were willing to make the trip.  The pressure is on Western New Yorkers to compensate for the lack of students by checking out how the Bulls measure up against the nation’s elite.

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