Getty The Buffalo Bulls will visit the Western Michigan Broncos on Tuesday.
The No. 19 Buffalo Bulls will travel to Kalamazoo to take on the Western Michigan Broncos on Tuesday.
The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. ET. While it won’t be broadcast nationally on television anywhere in the US, you can still watch a live stream of the game on your computer, phone or streaming device via ESPN+, the new digital streaming service from ESPN (no cable required) that has exclusive coverage to dozens of college basketball games–and several other sports–every week.
You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One or other compatible streaming device via the ESPN app.
If you can’t watch live, all games — including Buffalo vs Western Michigan — that are streamed on ESPN+ are also available to be watched afterwards on-demand via ESPN.com or the ESPN app.
Buffalo vs Western Michigan Preview
Since Marquette handed them their first loss 12 games into the season, the Bulls have returned to their winning ways, rattling off four straight, with three of those coming in MAC play.
On Saturday, they blew out Miami (Ohio) 88-64 at home, overcoming 9-of-28 shooting in the first half.
“Not a very good first half,” Buffalo head coach Nate Oats said, according to The Buffalo News. “Miami played really well and kind of took us out of what we wanted [to do]. I’m happy with our defense energy. Our offense wasn’t good. We weren’t making shots. We did enough to have a four-point lead [at halftime] but it wasn’t very good. It didn’t look like we’d been playing. But then we started [Dontay] Caruthers in the second half, and I thought he completely turned the game around.”
Caruthers, the MAC’s 2016-17 defensive player of the year, scored 11 points on 2-of-4 shooting to go with six rebounds, six assists, and three steals. He started the second half after opening the contest on the bench.
“Coach praised defense and obviously, me and Davonta [Jordan] had one bad night against Marquette and that’s still in the back of our head,” Caruthers said, per The Buffalo News. “We don’t want to let one person beat us, so I’m just trying to be that guy the team needs to get stops and I’m really happy to be that guy.
“It’s my last year. I’m a senior. Now, I don’t want (any) losses at home. It’s something I take pride in.”
The Bulls, whose 1.63 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks fifth in the nation, coughed the ball up just four times to 17 assists. The RedHawks turned the ball over 18 times.
“When I started Caruthers in the second half, I thought he completely turned the game around,” Oats said, according to the Associated Press. “He comes downhill at you so hard on offense. He creates turnovers, gets us out in transition. And that’s when we’re at our best.”
Miami and Western Michigan are the conference’s only winless teams. After a 4-2 start, the Broncos have dropped eight of 10, including three defeats in MAC play.
On Saturday, they led Toledo by four with seven minutes remaining before falling on the road. Te Rockets tied things up, then went on a 9-0 run en route to an 85-77 victory.
“We knew we had started the [MAC] season 0-2 and we had to get this win,” Toledo senior forward Nate Navigato said, according to The Blade. “On the road, we came out with energy, we talked, and we made shots. We passed the ball and moved the ball well.”