Buffalo Basketball: Keys to success at home against Toledo

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BOISE, ID – MARCH 15: The Buffalo Bulls bench reacts in the second half against the Arizona Wildcats during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Taco Bell Arena on March 15, 2018 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

1. Take care of the ball

This can be considered a game key for both teams but limiting turnovers and maximizing assists is what both Toledo and Buffalo do well. Both teams rank top-20 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. For Toledo, similar to their rebounding, they just simply do not do well when they turn the ball over. In both of their losses this season they had more turnovers than assists. Whether Buffalo decides to pressure them full court or start in a half-court set, they need to pressure them and force them to turn the ball over.

Buffalo rarely turns the ball over more than they dish it, so that problem is not as much of an issue as it is for Toledo. Even in their one loss against Marquette, Buffalo had five more assists than turnovers. The outlier in that situation was Markus Howard having an absolutely insane night, going for 45 points on 9-for-13 shooting from behind the arc.

Both Buffalo and Toledo are top-20 teams in assists per game so if Buffalo can force Toledo to turn the ball over more times than they assist, it is one effective way they increase their chances of winning.