Saturday, February 24, 2001
Miami cannot overlook Buffalo
By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The bus trip to Buffalo is long enough the Miami RedHawks did it in two segments. They left Thursday, spent Thursday night outside of Cleveland, and then did the last 3 1/2-4 hours Friday morning.
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MIAMI at BUFFALO
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• When: 7 p.m. today
• Where: Alumni Arena (8,500)
• Records: Miami (13-13, 9-6 in the Mid-American Conference), Buffalo (3-21, 1-14)
• TV: None
• Radio: WCKY-AM (1360), WMOH-AM (1450)
BUFFALO
Player-Ht-Yr-Avg
Louis Campbell-6-2-Sr.-13.0
Davis Lawrence-5-10-Jr.-4.8
Kevin Swoffer-6-10-Jr.-2.1
Jason Robinson-6-6-Jr.-13.5
Robert Brown-6-4-Jr.-15.0
Coach: Reggie Witherspoon (6-41, second season; same overall)
MIAMI
Doug Davis-6-3-Jr.-8.8
J. Grunkemeyer-6-5-Sr.-11.6
Alex Shorts-6-8-Jr.-15.0
Mike Ensminger-6-6-Sr.-6.0
Juby Johnson-6-5-Fr.-6.0
Coach: Charlie Coles (90-57, fifth season; 182-141, overall)
BY THE NUMBERS
• 5-46: Buffalo's record since entering the MAC three seasons ago
• 4-0: Miami's record vs. Buffalo since Bulls joined the MAC
• .500: Miami's free throw percentage the past two games. In the first 24 games, the RedHawks hit .770.
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What awaits Miami at the end of the journey is a 7 p.m. game today against Buffalo. The Bulls are 3-21 overall and 1-14 in the Mid-American Conference.
When Miami coach Charlie Coles looks at the Bulls he doesn't see a pushover. He sees danger.
“They're faster than us,” Coles said. “They jump higher. If we overlook them, we're through. I don't think we will, but we have to play good to beat them.”
Coles has pointed out to his players Buffalo, which is 5-46 in its three seasons in the MAC, has been on the brink of beating some good MAC teams this season.
The Bulls lost in overtime to Marshall and Akron. They lost by three to Ball State and by six to Kent State.
“They've got some talent,” Coles said. “You look at their top six or seven, and I'd take three or four of them in a minute.”
Adding to the danger for the RedHawks: They have shown a tendency to play down to the level of competition this season.
Still, Miami, 13-13 and 9-6 in the MAC, should win. If the RedHawks do, they set themselves up for a run at one of the three first-round byes in the MAC tourney.
The RedHawks are tied for fifth overall in the MAC, a game out of third. Two of teams ahead of them — Kent and Ohio University — play each other today.
The RedHawks' two games after today are with other teams battling for the byes. Miami plays host to Ohio Wednesday and closes the regular season at Bowling Green March 3. BG and OU are responsible for two of the RedHawks' MAC losses.
Miami has not played in a week. The RedHawks are coming off a 58-55 loss at Akron Feb.17.
The week off gave the RedHawks some time to heal if nothing else. Jason Grunkemeyer is nursing a sprained ankle, Doug Davis hasn't fully recovered from a dislocated toe that kept him out of four games, and Mike Ensminger has been troubled by a bad back all season.
“I don't know if the week off will help us or not,” Coles said. “It used to be that you could really work on things in a week like that. But now players' mindsets are that it's a week off. I'm not just talking about my team. But, at least, it gave us a chance to get healthy.”
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