C. Michigan, Buffalo meet in MAC semis
Central Michigan (23-10, 12-8) vs. Buffalo (29-3, 17-2)
Mid-American Conference Tourney Semifinals, Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland; Friday, 5:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: A spot in the MAC championship game is on the line as Central Michigan and Buffalo are set to do battle. The only meeting between the teams this season came on Feb. 9, when the Bulls outshot Central Michigan 54.8 percent to 43.3 percent and had eight fewer turnovers en route to the 14-point victory.
SUPER SENIORS: Buffalo has relied heavily on its seniors this year. CJ Massinburg, Nick Perkins, Jeremy Harris, Jayvon Graves and Dontay Caruthers have collectively accounted for 76 percent of the team's scoring this season and 81 percent of all Bulls points over the last five games.
OFFENSIVE THREAT: Larry Austin Jr. has directly created 56 percent of all Central Michigan field goals over the last three games. Austin has 25 field goals and 24 assists in those games.
ACCOUNTING FOR ASSISTS: The Bulls have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Chippewas. Buffalo has an assist on 48 of 88 field goals (54.5 percent) across its past three games while Central Michigan has assists on 41 of 87 field goals (47.1 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Buffalo offense has scored 84.9 points per game this season, ranking the Bulls fifth among Division 1 teams. The Central Michigan defense has allowed 75.9 points per game to opponents (ranked 260th).