17. Buffalo Bulls
Record: 12-1 (0-0 MAC)
Last Week: No. 16
Buffalo recovered nicely from its first loss of the year (at Marquette) this past week with a dominating road victory over Canisius. And while this result was expected, no victories should be taken for granted, especially not those away from home. With non-conference play now complete for the Bulls, it is time to talk about their potential to be an at-large team come March should they not win the MAC Tournament.
And as I mentioned in my bracketology winners piece from yesterday, winning the MAC will be no easy feat this year. Several other teams in the conference, including Toldeo (12-1) and Kent State (10-2), have the potential to take the league this season and Buffalo might not just roll through conference play with a close-to-undefeated record. As of right now, the MAC is rated as the ninth-best league in the country by KenPom, ahead of the Atlantic 10 and the Mountain West.
With three seniors leading the way for this team, Buffalo should be able to stay poised throughout this upcoming season. Most notably, of course, C.J. Massingburg is one of the best scorers in the entire nation. To this point in the year, the senior is averaging 18.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while shooting a ridiculous 45.1% from distance (on 6.8 3PA per game).