University of Buffalo senior guard CJ Massinburg
The preseason Mid-American Conference favorite No. 19 ranked Buffalo Bulls (26-3) aim to win their eighth consecutive game when they head to Athens to take on the Ohio Bobcats (13-15) at Convocation Center on Tuesday night.
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 start 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 Ohio — that are streamed on ESPN+ are also available to be watched afterwards on-demand via ESPN.com or the ESPN app.
Buffalo vs. Ohio Preview
Buffalo already clinched a share of the conference’s East Division when they defeated Miami (OH) 77-69 on Friday after scoring the game’s first 18 points. The RedHawks cut the Bulls’ lead to three points (70-67) with less than three minutes remaining, but fell short.
The Bulls’ win marked their 26th regular-season victory, which is already the most in school history. The most regular-season and postseason victories in program history came last season when they reached the second round, falling to John Calipari and Kentucky.
Head coach Nate Oats, now in his fourth season with last year’s NCAA Tournament win on his resume, acknowledged that although the team started hot against the Bobcats on Friday, there were still lulls in their overall game, primarily shooting, they still needed to fix.
“I thought we struggled on offense a little bit (Friday). Those first four minutes were some of the best basketball we’ve played all year, but credit Miami. They played us tough and turned us over a little bit. I also have to credit our guys though, for us to shoot as poorly as we did (42.6 percent) and find a way to win on the road says a lot about this group.”
The Bulls all season have been prone to defensive lapses, despite hovering and staying inside the AP Top 25 for essentially that entire span. After being unranked in the preseason Top 25, the Bulls entered the AP/Coaches Poll during Week 2, and have been ranked ever since.
Senior guard CJ Massinburg (ankle) was hindered against the Bobcats on Friday. Despite the ankle injury, Massinburg recorded his second straight double-double (20 points, 10 rebounds) to lead the Bulls in scoring. Massinburg has reached double-figures in scoring in all but one game this season, and that specific, lowly seven-point effort against Southern Illinois came all the way back on November 12.
With a victory against Ohio, Buffalo secures the top overall seed in the upcoming MAC Conference Tournament.
Prior to the Bobcats winning two of their past three games, the team lost six straight contest by an average margin of 17 points, including a 47-point drubbing at the hands of Buffalo on February 19. Despite two 20-plus win seasons with the school, head coach Saul Phillips is staring at a second straight year finishing below .500, and has yet to reach the NCAA Tournament.