DARTMOUTH (3-1)
at #22 BUFFALO (3-0)
Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018 | 7 PM | ESPN+
Alumni Arena (6,100) | Buffalo, N.Y.
• This game against Buffalo is the first for Dartmouth against an opponent ranked in the Associated Press poll in two years — No. 23 Rhode Island in the 2016-17 season opener (84-61 road loss).
• The Big Green are 3-54 all-time against AP ranked opponents.
• The last win came in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against 14th-ranked West Virginia, 61-59 in overtime, on March 13, 1956.
• The other two victories were both against Holy Cross, once in 1953, the other a month before the win over West Virginia.
• Dartmouth itself was ranked for five weeks during the 1957-58 season.
• The Big Green just finished up fall finals after defeating Division III Elms College last Tuesday, 100-54.
• No Division I team that has played three or more games has made as many 3-pointers per game as Dartmouth (15.8), and the 63 made are the most in a four-game span in program history.
• Junior
Brendan Barry has led the outside onslaught, knocking down 18-of-25 (.720) from the perimeter to rank third nationally in accuracy.
• Barry's classmates,
Ian Sistare (11-of-16, .688) and
James Foye (12-of-19, .632), have been nearly as accurate to help Dartmouth rank sixth in Division with a team percentage of .467.
• Rebounding has been taken care of by sophomores
Chris Knight (second in the Ivy League at 8.8 per game) and
Adrease Jackson (sixth at 7.3).
Series vs. Buffalo
• This is the third meeting between these two on the hardwood with Dartmouth winning each of the first two contests, 34-31 in Buffalo on Dec. 20, 1927 and 64-44 in Toledo on Dec. 29, 1996.
• The Big Green are 4-11 all-time against current MAC teams with other victories against Kent State 30 years ago and Northern Illinois just four years ago.
• Toledo has been the problem team from the MAC, beating Dartmouth in all six meetings.
Scouting the Bulls
• An NCAA Tournament team a year ago, Buffalo has continued its success this year and earned its first-ever national ranking in the AP poll. This will be its first home game as a ranked team.
• A 99-94 overtime win at nationally-ranked West Virginia certainly grabbed the attention of the voters, and the Bulls responded with another road win at Southern Illinois in their last game on Nov. 12.
• Buffalo is undefeated despite struggling a bit shooting the ball, having hit just under 40 percent from the floor (39.6) and 26.3 percent from the perimeter.
• Senior guard C.J. Massinburg has carried the Bulls with his 20.3 ppg and 9.3 rpg, including 43 points and 14 boards at West Virginia. He has hit 11 of the team's 26 long balls at a 42.3 percent clip.
• Nick Perkins gives Buffalo a strong post presence with his team-high 9.7 boards per game and four blocked shots as well as 11.0 ppg.
• The shooting woes have not carried over to the free throw line where Buffalo hits 76.6 percent.
• Davonta Jordan runs the point and averages 5.0 assists a night, plus leads the Bulls with six steals.
• Jeremy Harris (11.7 ppg) and Jayvon Graves (10.3) also average in double figures, though Harris has not got on track yet from long range (4-of-26).
• Nate Oats (Maranatha Baptist '97) is in his fourth year as the head coach at Buffalo, sporting a record of 67-39 entering this game. In two of his first three years, he led the Bulls to the NCAA Tournament, winning a first-round game last year as a 13-seed, beating Arizona by 21 points.
All Basketball All the Time
Dartmouth, which has a quarter system, just completed finals for the fall term, which is why there was an eight-day break between games. Now the Big Green get to focus on strictly basketball as classes will not resume until the first week of January for the winter term. It's a good thing, because after playing Buffalo, the team flies to San Francisco for a Saturday game, flies back that night then flies to Ireland on Monday to play in the Belfast Classic on Nov. 29-30.
Second Time in Triple Digits
Dartmouth defeated Division III Elms College on Nov. 13 by a final of 100-54, the team's second game scoring at least 100 points this season (the other was a 114-39 win over Newbury on Nov. 6). The last time the Big Green hit triple digits twice in one season came 30 years ago (1988-89) when they scored 103 points in victories against both St. Francis (N.Y.) and Harvard.
Ian Iotas
In the 100-54 win over Elms College, Dartmouth's two junior Ians — Carter and Sistare — each contributed a career-high 15 points. For Carter, hit 5-of-9 field goals with a 3-pointer for his first foray into double figures after sitting out last season, while Sistare hit the total for the third time in his career and second time in three games as he missed just one shot all night (4-for-4 FG, 2-for-2 3FG, 5-6 FT).
Board Scores
Sophomore
Chris Knight took to the boards against Elms College, hauling in a career-high 11 rebounds in the victory. It was his second double-digit game on the glass this year, having had 10 in the season opener against Newbury. Knight is second in the Ivy League with 8.8 rpg.
Like to See You Swett
Sophomore walk-on
Ben Swett scored the first points of his career when he drove for a layup against Elms College on Nov. 13. He would have also had his first 3-pointer, but as he was shooting, a teammate was whistled for an offensive foul, negating the shot that swished through the net.
Lighting It Up
• Dartmouth has hit at least 13 3-pointers in each of the first four games.
• The 63 treys are the Big Green's most in a four-game span ever, four outdistancing the previous record of 47.
• The last time the team had at least 10 3-pointers in four straight games came during a six-game stretch in 2002.
• Even Dartmouth is on pace to knock down over 400 triples this season, which would shatter the program record of 263 set in 2001-02.
• Only three teams have more 3-pointers so far this season, though each one has played more games.
• Only one team has more long balls per game than Dartmouth's 15.8, that being Northern Colorado which has played just two games.
• The Big Green hit 22 trifectas in the season opener, breaking the team record of 18 set in a win over Albany on Jan. 20, 2001.
Outside Information
With the team raining threes, who have been the biggest contributors? Let's start with junior
Brendan Barry, who is shooting 72 percent (18-of-25), which includes an 8-for-10 performance in the season opener, that leaves him third in the country in accuracy. How about junior
Ian Sistare? The reserve guard has come off the bench and served up 11 treys in just 16 attempts (.688) with a 5-for-6 showing at Davidson and ranks fifth in the nation. Then there's junior
James Foye with 12 triples in a mere 19 tries (.632) to rank ninth.