Akron @ Buffalo preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 12, 2019 ) Buffalo 76, Akron 70

Still not satisfied after a pair of blowout victories, coach Nate Oats is pushing for more from No. 23 Buffalo, which wraps up a three-game homestand Tuesday against Akron in a Mid-American Conference game. The Bulls have won five straight, including the last two by a combined 70 points, and can lock down their second straight regular season sweep of the Zips.

“We need to make a statement,” Oats told the media following an 80-57 victory over Kent State. “We’re trying to make it past the point of what we did last year. We won a game last year (in the NCAA Tournament) and that means getting into the second weekend of the tournament.” CJ Massinburg was excellent at both ends of the floor against Kent State, producing 18 points, five rebounds and five steals while holding Jaylin Walker, the MAC’s leading scorer, to 12 points. In addition to leading the Bulls to their 24th straight home win, Massinburg moved into third place on Buffalo’s all-time scoring list with 1,835 points, passing Jim Horne (1,833). Junior Tyler Cheese scored a career-high 27 points Saturday against Miami (Ohio) to help the Zips snap a three-game losing streak, one that started with a 76-70 loss to the Bulls on Feb. 12.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, No TV

ABOUT AKRON (15-12, 7-7 MAC): Cheese, a junior college transfer, had been building up to a big effort with solid play since the turn of the new year, including eight games in double figures. The 6-5 guard has averaged 16 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals over the last six games, including a career-high six steals in the first meeting with the Bulls. As Cheese has excelled, Jimond Ivey - one of two 1,000-point scorers on the roster for the Zips - has fallen off in the last six contests with two games in double figures and 17-of-55 shooting.

ABOUT BUFFALO (24-3, 12-2): Nick Perkins clearly got the memo from his coach demanding better play as the senior has come up with two of his better games in the last three contests. The 6-8 forward, who has run hot and cold this season, followed up a 26-point, 10-rebound performance against Toledo by netting a season-high 27 points against Kent State. Those efforts gave the Ypsilanti, Mich., native more than 1,600 career points, the sixth-most in school history, and have him on the cusp of 800 career rebounds.

TIP-INS

1. The Zips, who are in search of their first win against a ranked team, are 15th in the nation in scoring defense (62.6 points per game).

2. The Bulls are 8-0 when Perkins scores 20 or more points.

3. Dontay Caruthers was presented with the Leonard Serfustini Sportsmanship Award, given annually to a Buffalo senior.

PREDICTION: Buffalo 82, Akron 68