Saturday, February 26, 2000
Miami hits road with 4-game skid
BY JEFF CARLTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The videos were locked up and the euchre games put on hold. Miami coach Charlie Coles wants his players to know their road trip to Buffalo is strictly business.
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MIAMI at BUFFALO
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• When: 7:30 p.m. today
• Where: Alumni Arena (8,500), Buffalo, N.Y.
• Records: Miami (11-14, 7-10 Mid-American Conference); Buffalo (5-21, 3-14)
• Radio: WCKY-AM (1360), WMOH-AM (1450), WFMG-FM (101.3)
BY THE NUMBERS
• 83.1: Average points Buffalo gives up per game, worst in MAC
• 63.9: Average points MU gives up per game, best in the MAC
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The RedHawks left Thursday on the long bus ride to western New York mired in a four-game losing streak — their longest since 1991. Tipoff at Buffalo's Alumni Arena is scheduled for 7:30p.m. today.
“As bad as we're playing, we should be willing to go anywhere to try and redeem ourselves,” said Coles, from somewhere along Interstate 70. “We should be willing to go to Alaska at this point.”
Miami (11-14, 7-10 Mid-American Conference) missed its chance to play host to a first-round MAC tournament game when it lost to Marshall on Wednesday night in Oxford.
A win today at Buffalo (5-21, 3-14) gives Miami the No.9 seed and a first-round MAC tournament game at the winner of today's game between Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois.
If Buffalo wins, the RedHawks could drop as low as the No.11 seed and play either Marshall, Akron or Ohio.
The RedHawks have dropped seven of their last eight, including Wednesday's nine-point loss to Marshall.
“Guys are taking turns making mistakes,” Coles said.
The Thundering Herd took the game to Miami, setting a fast pace.
The tempo helped Miami forward Jason Stewart score a career-high 30 points, a mark he shouldn't break against the Bulls if Miami plays its game.
After running up and down the court against high-octane Marshall, Miami catches a break against the Bulls. Buffalo and Miami are the two lowest-scoring teams in the MAC.
“It's a definite must-win for us,” center Mike Ensminger said. “A lot of teams on a skid will fold up shop, but we are hoping this game will give us some sort of momentum.”
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