Buffalo Basketball: 3 keys to upsetting No. 13 West Virginia

BOISE, ID - MARCH 17: Montell McRae #1 of the Buffalo Bulls reacts during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Taco Bell Arena on March 17, 2018 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

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BOISE, ID – MARCH 17: Dontay Caruthers #22 of the Buffalo Bulls reacts during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Taco Bell Arena on March 17, 2018 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

3. Score fast and score often

Buffalo is a team that likes to score the ball and make their money on offense. They led the MAC in scoring average last season at 84.6 and in field goal percentage at 47.3. However, they were 11th in the MAC in scoring defense as they gave up almost 77 points per game. Coach Nate Oats likes to run the break and get good looks in transition and with the way West Virginia runs their half court defense and presses the basketball, this will be a huge key in this match up.

They also did a great job of rebounding the ball last season as they led the MAC with almost 39 rebounds per game and to stay ahead in this game, they must grab these rebounds and immediately run the floor and turn defense into offense.

If Buffalo can put up points early and put some pressure on this West Virginia team, it will force them onto their heels a bit. Even thought this Mountaineer team brings back some proven scorers, they lost their two leading scorers in Carter and Dexter Miles so they will need some of the young guys to step up. That is the situation Buffalo needs to work them into and force the younger guys to get nervous in their first game of the season and take bad shots and make some unforced errors.