Both Buffalo and Miami-Ohio are coming off of overtime games, but the difference is that Buffalo has more depth with the Miami starters were taxed. Lay the points at home.
Alumni Arena in Buffalo, New York will be the site of today’s Mid-American Conference clash between the host Buffalo Bulls and the visiting Redhawks from Miami-Ohio University.
Both teams enter today’s contest off of overtime affairs in their previous games. The Redhawks won their OT game at home over Bowling Green 50-45 but failed to cover as a 6½-point home favorite.
In that game, four of five Redhawks starters logged more than 35 minutes of playing time due to lack of support from their bench.. The Hawks shot 18 of 54 and Bowling Green shot 19 of 51 from the floor. Poor shooting and no bench have continued to be a problem for this Miami-Ohio team.
The Bulls lost their OT game on the road at Kent State falling 77-71. This game came on the heels of a huge win for the Bulls at Ohio University a place they had not won in their last eleven trips. That win over Ohio also broke a four-game losing skid with such an emotional win it’s no surprise they fell to Kent State on the road in their next game.
Because Buffalo has more depth their OT game was not as taxing on their starting five as they only had two starters that logged more than 37 minutes. This could be a deciding factor because the Bulls have an advantage when it comes to their bench and the Redhawks may suffer from tired legs during the second half of today’s game.
Buffalo will push the ball on offense and they have become more physical on the defensive end of the floor over their last eight games allowing their opponents to average only 58.6 points per game over that span. The Bulls won the first meeting between these two teams back in January 76-64 as an eight-point road underdog shooting 25 of 50 from the field while the host only managed to shoot 19 of 49.
We do not expect the Redhawks to shoot any better on the Bulls floor today and tired legs often leads to missed shots something that will once again be the downfall of this Miami-Ohio team. On the technical front we know that Buffalo is 10-2 ATS after losing their last game and now installed as a favorite of 3 to 6½ points.
If they also lost ATS in their last game and now a home favorite they are 8-1 ATS and if facing a conference opponent their record improves to a perfect 6-0 ATS. Miami-Ohio coming off a home win and now facing a division foe with a line range of 3 to 6½ points are 5-15-1 ATS if they are on the road their record is 1-14 ATS, if they are a road underdog 1-11 ATS and if the won SU but lost ATS in their last game they are 0-6 ATS.
Lay the short price with the Bulls as they sweep the regular-season series and cash the winning ticket for us in the process.
Graded Selection: Buffalo Bulls 70, Miami-Ohio Redhawks 61
Free Pick: Buffalo -3 (-110)