Buffalo @ Bowling Green preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 2, 2018 ) Buffalo 100, Bowling Green 70

The top teams in the Mid-American Conference will meet Friday when No. 17 Buffalo visits Bowling Green. The Bulls, who are trying for their 10th straight victory over the Falcons, will be the highest-ranked team to ever play in the Stroh Center.

Buffalo is coming off one of its better efforts in league play, a wire-to-wire home win over Ball State, while Bowling Green saw its 10-game win streak go by the wayside as it failed to crack 60 points at Miami (Ohio). Normally a defensive stopper, Dontay Caruthers led the Bulls in scoring for the second time this season and third time in his career with 21 points against Ball State. "As for my performance, I think it was alright," Caruthers, a former MAC Defensive Player of the Year, told the media. "I still could have done a bunch of things better. I only had three rebounds. Our defense was okay, but we gave a up too many rebounds." Hitting the boards will be critical for the Bulls if they want to beat the Falcons, who have the league's top rebounder in Demajeo Wiggins and led the nation in rebounds per game (43.7) entering Thursday, and are first in the MAC in rebounding margin (plus-9.4) and defensive boards (30.6).

TV: 8 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network

ABOUT BUFFALO (19-2, 7-1 MAC): CJ Massinburg went over 1,700 career points in the win over Ball State to move into fourth place on Buffalo's scoring list and sets his sights on the three men in front of him - Jim Horne (1,833), Rasaun Young (1,908) and Javon McCrea (2,004). The senior should be able to get to second all-time but reaching 2,005 points would be a tall task without a deep run in the MAC and NCAA tournaments. If Massinburg, who has 1,715 career points, plays 15 more games, a total that would have to include five postseason contests, he would need to average 19.4 points to pass McCrea - 1.3 above his season average.

ABOUT BOWLING GREEN (14-6, 6-1): The Falcons have been one of the better defensive teams in the MAC, holding opponents to an average of 69.5 points per game, but if past results against the Bulls are any indication, they will need to score 90 points to win. In the past six meetings, Michael Huger's squad has allowed an average of 89.6 points to the Bulls, including 195 in a pair of meetings last season. "Friday is all about playing hard, playing together and playing great defense, those are the characteristics that have led to us having success this season," Huger, whose team has shot 40 percent or better from 3-point land in eight straight games, told the media. "Buffalo is a talented, tough, aggressive team that looks to play at a very fast pace. We will have to have great communication all night long."

TIP-INS

1. The Falcons are 10-0 at the Stroh Center, their best start there since 1999-00, and are three wins shy of setting the arena record.

2. Justin Turner, who was the driving force behind the win streak for the Falcons with seven 20-point games, had only 12 against Miami (Ohio), his lowest total in a MAC game this season.

3. Buffalo's Nick Perkins went 1-of-8 from the field and had three points against Ball State, but the senior has averaged 19 points in his previous four games after scoring in single digits.

PREDICTION: Buffalo 89, Bowling Green 81